The Lakota Sioux
Location
The Lakota tribe lives on reservations in the Dakotas. The
Lakotas that don’t live on reservations live in the Dakotas, Montana, and many
parts of Canada. They are also Plain Indians, which means they like on mostly
flat areas.
Cosmology
The Lakota cosmology is a teaching of a universal energy
that is everywhere and present in all things. Wakan Tanka, the creator, gives
the energy to humans, Two Leggeds, at birth when he breaths in them the niya
and ni. These are the soul and breath of life. Humans have four sacred parts
the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. The purpose of being in a physical body
is to learn and grow spiritually.
Sacred Symbols
Thunderbirds are both dreaded and honored by the Lakota. He
is the guardian of truth and will kill liars with lighting bolts that strike
from his beak and eyes. The thunderbirds also bring rain if enticed by tobacco
offerings.
The four medicine
arrows and wheel are a symbol of enlightenment. Each arrow is a direction of
thought and a state of being to acquire. The north arrow is wisdom. The south
arrow is innocence. The east arrow is far seeing or seeing into the future. The
west arrow is inner seeing or introspection.
The medicine stone
wheel is used for growth, learning and is a tool for enlightenment and
assistance in areas where we need it. It includes seven stones in the middle,
which represent the seven types of human personality or the universal
personality the stones encircling them represent the plants, animals or
something else that has equal value. The four points represent the four paths a
person is born to. www.whats-your-sign.com/Sioux-symbols.html
Sacred Location
Pe’Sla is an area in
the Black Hills of South Dakota that is considered to be the Center and heart
of everything that is. That location is apart of the Lakota people’s creation
story. It is a place of prayer and certain ceremonies are performed there.
A few of the gods
Iktomi- Trickster,
Symbol of Utter Defiance, clever
Ksa- Wisdom, masculine, inventor of language and counselor
of the gods
Maka- Earth domain is all lands except mountain and hills
Patroness of sustenance, shelter, protection, contentment, comfort, and
happiness
Iya- eating monster, fights Ksa and has a hunger that food
doesn’t satisfy
mreid.com/lakota/mytwho.htm
Shaman
A shaman is the person who is closely connected to the
spiritual world. They are also called the medicine men. They use medicine as
magic to connect to the spiritual world.
Ritual
Sun Dance
This very
important ritual is about renewal. It involves the extreme pain that warriors
went through. It is usually held in June or July during the full moon. It
involves being pierced in the side or back with a bone that is tethered to a
buffalo skull. These could then be tethered to a sacred tree. The warriors then
danced around the tree until the bones fell off there bodies.
Vision Quest
This ritual
is held in an isolated place until a vision is received. It usually last three
to four days. The vision could be actual vision from the seeker or a visit from
an animal. Once the vision is received. The medicine man interprets the vision.
The vision is usually so the seeker understands his or her place in the world.
Rite of Purification (Inipi)
Inipi means
to live again. This ritual is about cleaning the spirit and mind. It can
connect to the Vision Quest by helping the vision seeker enter a state of
humility and rebirth. This all happens within a sweat lodge, which represents
the “inner world.” Once a person leaves the sweat lodge it is said that
impurities are left inside.
No comments:
Post a Comment